


Idiosyncrasies

by Matloc



Series: The emperor's return [2]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akakuro - Freeform, M/M, OOC, Post Winter Cup, annoying introspection, how to epithets, implied aokuro but really it's just Bakashi being jealous, irritated!Kuroko, manipulative!Akashi, oreshi - Freeform, self-indulgent OTP worshipping, shitty metaphors, whoops Bokushi popped up too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-15 00:23:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3431072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matloc/pseuds/Matloc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko hates it when he finds himself falling for Akashi's every sneaky tactic, but what does his treacherous heart have to say about that? /// Set right after the Winter Cup. Can be considered OOC! It was supposed to be a fluff piece that turned into ??anti-AoKuro?? self-indulgent OTP worship ;( YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Idiosyncrasies

**Author's Note:**

> Fluff? Romance? what are those and can you eat them  
> Whoops the shitty poet in me came alive pls forgav. Try to catch all the similes, metaphors and alliterations I threw in there!

** Idiosyncrasies **

 

 

It was going so well, in the sense that Kuroko was enjoying the peace and quiet they had been sharing up until a few minutes ago, when a simple text message ruined it all. It wasn’t the content of the message that was the problem; somewhere in between taking out and checking his phone, apparently there was something that struck his red-eyed companion as offensive, because the mood had visibly darkened just as the sky outside, which was fading into darkness.

***

He chanced upon a second encounter with Akashi a couple days after the finals, running into him after the closing ceremony. Rakuzan’s captain had been standing in the courtyard, several paces away from the main entrance, conveniently far enough so he wouldn’t be detected by wandering eyes. Whether that was intentional or not, however, was a different story altogether because Kuroko had still managed to spot him the moment he stepped out into the glaring December sun.

It was regretfully an undeniable fact that his eyes had always been attracted by that shock of red hair, and the striking scarlet gaze that had now rooted him to the spot. Coupled with the regal countenance Akashi Seijūrō had always carried, he stuck out in the sea of featureless people like a single blood rose blooming in a field of white lilies.

Moments later Kuroko found himself wading through the crowd, already making his way towards his former captain as though it were a conditioned response. He wasn’t really surprised, Akashi-kun had always had a strong impact on him, and he’d often catch himself unconsciously bending to the redhead’s whims – not that he’d ever demanded anything unreasonable from Kuroko. He was fully aware of the scope of his potential, something his reliable captain had often reaffirmed to the blue-haired club member during practice sessions.

He still didn’t appreciate being treated like a minion though, and he’d made that sentiment clear to his Teiko captain on several occasions, which had only served as a form of entertainment to the tyrant leader, much to Kuroko’s chagrin.

So there he was, standing a mere few feet across from the last person he wanted to see right now for reasons he couldn’t quite figure out, sizing him up with mild irritation, only to be met with a red glint of amusement. As if he’d reacted exactly the way Akashi had expected him to, and Kuroko realized that he probably had.

“Akashi-kun, nice to see you again _so soon_ ,” his polite words betrayed his annoyance, and Akashi’s lips quirked in response.

“Indeed, what a delightful coincidence.” Kuroko wanted to express just how much he disagreed that it was a coincidence, but then Akashi invited him out to a treat. As congratulations, he’d insisted.

Trust the captain of the Generation of Miracles to tempt him with vanilla milkshakes.

In retrospect, Kuroko would have liked to believe that the only reason he accepted was because his Seirin teammates were planning to celebrate again over at Kagami’s place, and as much as he appreciated everything their coach did for the team, the blue-haired player wasn’t really looking forward to a repeat of what happened last time.

A part of him knew, though, that there had been no reason to turn down the invitation in the first place, simply because it was Akashi Seijūrō who had asked him.

And thus he was led along by the scheming redhead for the umpteenth time until the pair found themselves inside Maji Burger, Kuroko’s favorite milkshake and a burger occupying his side of the table while the boy sitting across him happily declined his kind offer (actually, it wasn’t an offer, Kuroko wanted to cut in) to get something for himself, instead opting to read a book that he’d been carrying in his jersey.

This only confirmed Kuroko’s suspicions that the taller boy really had _planned_ for their encounter to happen, along with everything that came after, and once again he felt like a pawn being pushed along to match the red king’s pace.

His mounting displeasure immediately dissolved, however, when he sipped the sweet vanilla goodness, and a small part inside of him wondered if the milkshake had all along been part of Akashi-kun’s strategy in placating him.

It had seemed to have worked wonders, as Kuroko soon found himself enjoying the rare tranquil that had set into the surprisingly empty joint. Was this also planned? Because if it was then he definitely wouldn’t mind enjoying the redhead’s company again.

Kuroko surprised himself just then with the course his thoughts had taken, and his mind was brought back to what had transpired only a few days ago at the match that had left him all too perplexed. It was frustrating, that he was left confused, with no answers even till now.

Recently his thoughts were often pervaded by a sense of longing, but for what exactly?

He absentmindedly studied the person who’d been occupying his mind the past few days. With a heavy book in hand and a posture too prim and proper for a burger joint, Akashi definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. Though that was more due to the regal air that always seemed to be surrounding him, making him stand out no matter where he was, be it amongst commoners or amongst kings. Kuroko had soon come to realize that very fact when he’d watched him play for the first time. The Generation of Miracles had a commanding presence of their own but Akashi was in a completely different league by himself. It was overwhelming but it wasn’t unpleasant nor was it intimidating, not this Akashi-kun, and not to Kuroko at least.

His vision settled on a bed of red hair that shimmered in the dying embers of the sun as the world dyed itself orange, then to his eyes that always looked at him with a strange tenderness that no one else showed Kuroko. It was almost hypnotic, and he suddenly had this peculiar urge to reach across the table and gently push the book down just so the warm, scarlet gaze would fall on him again.

That weird feeling of lead in his chest was back again.

Just what did he want from Akashi Seijūrō?

The harsh buzz of a cellphone jolted him out of his thoughts, the sound making Akashi look up in curiosity. Kuroko reached for his phone and flipped it open to find a text from Aomine-kun, informing him of Momoi-san’s plans for tomorrow for some ‘stupid group photo’, which instantly made him smile. It had been a while since he had a chance to have a proper conversation with his old teammates. Maybe he could talk them into a round of streetball or two?

A sharp voice cut into his budding excitement, “Was it Aomine?”

Kuroko looked up in surprise, “How did you know?”

“You still aren’t very good at hiding your emotions, Kuroko.” He snapped his book shut on the table, and the blue-haired boy realized that he might have stepped on a landmine.

And that was how Kuroko found himself in the aforementioned situation, a strong sense of unease hanging in the air. Red eyes, hardened with displeasure, were peering right into him, as if looking for something in the blue-haired boy.

Kuroko felt like he was being thoroughly examined as he tried to match the redhead’s gaze head on, not attempting to hide his discomfort when something flipped inside his belly, “Please stop staring, Akashi-kun, it’s making me uncomfortable.”

Akashi’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “Why?” he leaned in and the shorter boy was suddenly extremely grateful for the table in between them because he felt trapped, frozen under the other’s gaze.

For once Kuroko found himself at a loss for words. How was one supposed to answer that? Politeness dictated that when someone asked you to stop staring, the right thing to do would be to _stop_. Akashi, however, only seemed like he wanted to press him further, to see how far he could rankle the phantom player, who felt his irritation spike. Akashi-kun was being unnaturally spiteful over a simple text message.

Still locked under that unmoving gaze of his, Kuroko felt his pulse quicken and his face burn and he decided that he’d had enough of Akashi for today.

As if having heard his thoughts, the redhead reached out towards him, and the shorter boy felt something cold brush softly against his cheek. The faintest of a touch, barely even there, yet Akashi’s fingers felt like ice against his own heated skin. He would have flinched and probably ignited passed a burger into their face had it been someone else, but this was Akashi-kun, the one who made something inside of him speed up while everything else beyond the air they shared seemed to slow down, and Kuroko just knew that this was different.

It was different with Akashi, it always had been. Strange. Curious. Foreign. _Special?_        

Blue eyes blinked as their owner felt like he’d come close to understanding just what the person sitting across did to him and why it couldn’t be justified by his overindulgence in vanilla milkshakes.

His mental algorithms flew out the window when Akashi smiled that small, gentle smile of his and successfully ensnared him again, leaving his voice stuck in his throat.

Akashi’s voice, however, was taut, the tender expression on his face melting into disapproval, as he spoke, “Perhaps you’d failed to understand what I meant when I told you to forget about him, Tetsuya.” His fingers traced along the contours of his cheek before he retreated, leaning back against the chair so he could observe the shorter boy.

Kuroko’s stomach lurched when he thought he’d caught a glimpse of gold again, but no, Akashi’s eyes remained a hypnotic red. He surmised that there were no fundamental differences between the two personas of Akashi-kun, that one was but a pickwickian [1] extension of the other. With that thought, he knew he had to choose his next words carefully to avoid exacerbating the situation.

But the redhead’s words only added to the jumbled mess of unanswered questions and unsaid words swirling inside his head as he recalled the conversation from what already felt like a long, long time ago. Of course, regardless of what his captain or anyone else had said, he’d refused to give up on the one person he actually felt like he bonded with.

Suddenly it dawned on him. Was Akashi-kun bothered by whatever existed between him and Aomine-kun? Why?

Did the tanned prodigy have the same kind of impact on him as Akashi did?

Certainly, during his middle school days, he’d always viewed Aomine as someone larger than life, with an all-encompassing presence you couldn’t really ignore. Even now, if someone asked him to use one word to describe he would have called Aomine awe-inspiring.

His raw talent made him shine so brilliantly that it was almost _blinding_ , and he was the one who gave him hope to keep on playing… but then there was Akashi, who had _paved_ a path that he never knew existed. Akashi was the one who’d laid down the unshakeable foundation that Kuroko had built the entirety of his basketball career on, and to an extent, his own identity.

The formidable Teiko captain had made the impossible possible and found a use for him. Even if it was just as a tool, it gave him the final push he’d needed to evolve and grow, with Seirin eventually speeding up the process, helping him develop a style that was unique to him and him only.

That fateful day back in middle school made him learn just how great of a person Akashi Seijūrō was.

Things had started to change then, and whatever bond he’d shared with Aomine had come to an abrupt end, despite the phantom member desperately trying his best to keep things afloat. He didn’t want to call it a vain effort, nevertheless he had turned in the club resignation form and so none of it mattered.

His life at Seirin, alongside Kagami and the rest of his team, helped him come to terms with the reality that they could never go back to the way they were before, but that was okay because he’d finally found people he could share his love for basketball with. After Touou’s defeat, Kuroko had realized that things would never be the same but he was happy that they had still managed to mend things between them. Truthfully, the one thing that connected him to Aomine was basketball, and he was fine with that.

But it was different with Akashi, and it was different from what he felt with everyone else. It was different from what he felt with basketball. The ruthless captain’s immutable significance in his life was something so much more personal.

His mind suddenly recalled a conversation he’d shared with Aomine during middle school and then forgotten soon after. The tanned player had been complaining about the near barbarous training regime Akashi had set up for him again, calling him all sorts of synonyms for the devil, and the shorter interlocutor interjected with instances where the demon captain had been kind and compassionate as well, however rare they might have been. Aomine had simply made a puzzled face at that.

_“I don’t really get it, but I guess you’re just special, Tetsu?”_

It struck him like an epiphany as he was brought back to the present, and Kuroko _just knew_ because the lightheaded sensation was back, even stronger and sweeter, and it tore painfully at his chest until his throat swelled with words he couldn’t quite understand, yet felt like the most natural thing to say.

Several questions exploded into his brain, about when it all started, how it all started, and was it okay to start something new together?

Instead, he opted for, “Aomine-kun only wanted to relay Momoi-san’s message. She wants to see us all tomorrow for a group photo. And I was wondering if…”

He trailed off before looking up into Akashi’s expectant eyes, and when he finally caught onto his scheme, all he wanted to do was complain that it was unfair how he was duped into following the emperor’s wishes once more.

But that funny feeling in his chest betrayed him, “After that, could I borrow you for the rest of the day?” he paused, “Just the two of us.”

“Well, if you insist.”

The boy couldn’t help but feel annoyed that he’d been led along like a pawn again. But then the redhead flashed him another one of his amazing smiles that showed he was genuinely happy with Kuroko, and all of his frustration magically evaporated.

A strange sense of contentment settled in as they sat in a silence so comfortable, so uniquely _theirs_ , and Kuroko decided that he didn’t mind being the one pawn that travelled alongside the red king.

Not that his king needed to know.

 

* * *

 

 

[1] It’s an old ass adjective coined by Dickens, named after the protagonist of his old ass novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, or Pickwick Papers for short. It refers to something that is or should be understood differently from its usual or contemporary definition/interpretation. In other words, look at Bokushi from a different viewpoint and you'll see no visible difference to Oreshi (imo)!

**Author's Note:**

> LOL I can just see Bakashi lurking behind a pillar waiting for his preshus Tetsu to come out so he can drag him into the shadows and have his wicked way with him--- /shot  
> Hahaahh Bakashi who reads a book in the middle of a date u fucking loser ilysm ( ˘ ³˘)❤
> 
> soz I really wanted to write some super cheesy diabeetus but Kuroko was being a stubborn dumdum all pissed off at his labbu labbu feels and Bakashi got impatient so he chose to play the jealousy card instead to hint that he might have impure BL feelings for our bby Kurochin, what an assbutt! As a result, this poop came out WHOOPS
> 
> Until next time! ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )


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